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Have just returned from a family holiday in Pembrokeshire. Very pretty and underrated - like Cornwall but without the crowds.
We rented a cottage at Neyland, right on the river front, and opposite Pembroke. Casting a lure at dawn on the ebb tide produced bass up to about 3lb. The owner of the cottage, himself a keen angler was willing to lend me his gear to go after the rays, hounds and codling that could be found in the main channel, but I never had time to take him up on his offer.
There are loads of shore fishing marks close by, and my son and I had a go at some of them, but didn't get much apart from a few pollack and wrasse from the rocks, though Oli, my lad spent an afternoon on the rocks around Angle and had a decent haul of bass and pollack. I took a photo of a corkwing wrasse that I landed, a first for me.
Our attempts to get out on a charter boat were very frustrating. Before going, we'd arranged for a 6 hour trip out of Neyland on Excel 2, but when we arrived, Dave Hancock, the skipper called to cancel because he's got engine problems and the boat was out the water most of the week we were there. We tried Padrig Rees and Blue Shark out of St.Davids, but he was only doing short trips mid-week. Nick O'Sullivan on Celtic Wildcat out of Neyland was only sharking all week (I chatted to one of his customers who was out on Friday and they'd had 15-16 blue sharks to 80lb). I then tried Andy Truelove on Atlantic Blue out of Dale and arranged a 4 hour session only to get a call from him on the morning of the trip to say he had to cancel because his fuel delivery had failed to turn up.
We finally made it out on the last day of our holiday on Lady Gail II, skippered by Fen Duke, out of Dale, but only a 4 hour trip. He took us out to Skomer Island where there was little happening, and then on to Goose Rock where there were loads of coalies, some decent pollack and a few cod. But no mackerel. The mackie came in early on in April, disappeared for several months and have only just started re-appearing in a few places. We were fishing neap tides, which were not ideal, but then neither do you want the big tides when you would need 16 oz leads.
The boat had been booked after our trip with a 2 hour session but the anglers had cancelled at the last minute, so we stayed on board and did a few wrecks and reefs within the Haven, but it was very slow fishing. The fish were just not on the feed. I think if you get the tides right, there is some great fishing to be found in this corner of Wales. They have many species that we don't get. It's under-fished - we barely saw any shore anglers all week, and there seems to be plenty of boat marks. It's a long haul down there - 7 hours by car, without towing a boat, so you'd want more than a week, but there are loads of slipways for launching, and I think Neyland marina has an arrangement with RQ for discounted berthing too. I'd like to go back anyway.
Only a couple of photos of fish. When we did find the fish, it was all action and no time for the camera.
We rented a cottage at Neyland, right on the river front, and opposite Pembroke. Casting a lure at dawn on the ebb tide produced bass up to about 3lb. The owner of the cottage, himself a keen angler was willing to lend me his gear to go after the rays, hounds and codling that could be found in the main channel, but I never had time to take him up on his offer.
There are loads of shore fishing marks close by, and my son and I had a go at some of them, but didn't get much apart from a few pollack and wrasse from the rocks, though Oli, my lad spent an afternoon on the rocks around Angle and had a decent haul of bass and pollack. I took a photo of a corkwing wrasse that I landed, a first for me.
Our attempts to get out on a charter boat were very frustrating. Before going, we'd arranged for a 6 hour trip out of Neyland on Excel 2, but when we arrived, Dave Hancock, the skipper called to cancel because he's got engine problems and the boat was out the water most of the week we were there. We tried Padrig Rees and Blue Shark out of St.Davids, but he was only doing short trips mid-week. Nick O'Sullivan on Celtic Wildcat out of Neyland was only sharking all week (I chatted to one of his customers who was out on Friday and they'd had 15-16 blue sharks to 80lb). I then tried Andy Truelove on Atlantic Blue out of Dale and arranged a 4 hour session only to get a call from him on the morning of the trip to say he had to cancel because his fuel delivery had failed to turn up.
We finally made it out on the last day of our holiday on Lady Gail II, skippered by Fen Duke, out of Dale, but only a 4 hour trip. He took us out to Skomer Island where there was little happening, and then on to Goose Rock where there were loads of coalies, some decent pollack and a few cod. But no mackerel. The mackie came in early on in April, disappeared for several months and have only just started re-appearing in a few places. We were fishing neap tides, which were not ideal, but then neither do you want the big tides when you would need 16 oz leads.
The boat had been booked after our trip with a 2 hour session but the anglers had cancelled at the last minute, so we stayed on board and did a few wrecks and reefs within the Haven, but it was very slow fishing. The fish were just not on the feed. I think if you get the tides right, there is some great fishing to be found in this corner of Wales. They have many species that we don't get. It's under-fished - we barely saw any shore anglers all week, and there seems to be plenty of boat marks. It's a long haul down there - 7 hours by car, without towing a boat, so you'd want more than a week, but there are loads of slipways for launching, and I think Neyland marina has an arrangement with RQ for discounted berthing too. I'd like to go back anyway.
Only a couple of photos of fish. When we did find the fish, it was all action and no time for the camera.
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